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Number of people with diabetes reaches over 4 million

Tue 05 January 2016

The number of people living with diabetes in the UK has tipped over the 4 million mark for the first time, according to new figures released today by Diabetes UK.

The new figures, extracted from GP patient data [1], show that there are now 4.05 million people with the condition in the UK, which includes 3.5 million adults who have been diagnosed, an increase of 119,965 compared to the previous year, and an increase of 65 per cent over the past decade. There are also thought to be 549,000 people with undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes.

Urgent need for adequate diabetes care

As the number of people living with the condition continues to escalate, Diabetes UK is warning that the need for the NHS to commit to providing adequate care and diabetes education across the UK is more urgent than ever. Until this happens – and the National Audit Office recently criticised the often poor standard of care – large numbers of people will end up experiencing potentially preventable diabetes-related complications such as blindness, kidney failure and amputation.

At the moment, more than 24,000 people a year with diabetes die before their time, which is because:

Only 60 per cent of people with diabetes are getting the eight NICE recommended checks [2], which are key to identifying any problems early enough to prevent complications.

Diabetes education courses are not being commissioned for people in over a third of areas in England [3].

Hospital care for people with diabetes is consistently poor and, in a significant minority of cases, is putting people’s lives at risk.

This is despite clear evidence that improving care would help avoid health complications that, as well as being personally devastating, account for 80 per cent of the NHS’ £10 billion annual spend on diabetes.

We are also calling for a greater focus on preventing Type 2 diabetes, which is vital in stemming the rise of Type 2 diabetes. The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme – a joint commitment from NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK to deliver at scale evidence based behavioural interventions for individuals identified as being at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes – is an important first step but more needs to be done to help people lead healthy lifestyles from the beginning to the ends of their lives.

"Denied both care and access to education"

Chris Askew, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, said: “With 4 million people in the UK now living with diabetes, the need to tackle this serious health condition has never been so stark or so urgent. Tragically, we are continuing to see too many people with diabetes suffering serious complications, and even dying before their time, and we know that key reasons for this are that they are being denied both the care and access to education that would help them to manage their condition well.

"Diabetes education needs to be readily available"

"It is vital that we start to see people with diabetes receive good quality care wherever they live rather than them being at the mercy of a postcode lottery. Equally, diabetes education needs to be readily available everywhere, and commissioned along with a proper local system that explains to people with diabetes the benefits they will gain from attending an education course, and ensures that courses are well run.

“We also need a concerted effort led by the Government to take active steps to address the fact that almost two in every three people in the UK are overweight or obese and are therefore at increased risk of Type 2 diabetes. Basic measures such as making healthy food cheaper and more accessible, introducing clearer food labelling and making it easier for people to build physical activity into their daily lives would have a profound influence.

"No time to waste"

“With a record number of people living with diabetes, there is no time to waste in getting serious about providing better care and diabetes education. Until this happens, the rising number of people with diabetes will continue to be denied the best chance of living long and healthy lives and the NHS will continue to be crippled under avoidable but escalating costs of treating poorly managed diabetes."